Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ALMATY541
2006-02-09 19:15:00
CONFIDENTIAL
US Office Almaty
Cable title:  

EUCOM DCDR GENERAL CHARLES WALD DISCUSSES SECURITY

Tags:  MARR MASS POLITICAL 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ALMATY 000541 

SIPDIS

EUR/CACEN (JMUDGE); EUR/SNEC (SMANN); EUR/RPM (JWARLICK);
SA (JGASTRIGHT)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2016
TAGS: MARR MASS POLITICAL
SUBJECT: EUCOM DCDR GENERAL CHARLES WALD DISCUSSES SECURITY
ISSUES WITH KAZAKHSTAN'S MINISTER OF DEFENSE AND WITH THE
DIRECTOR OF BORDER GUARD FORCES

CLASSIFIED BY: DCM MARK L. ASQUINO, FOR REASONS: 1.4
(A),(B) AND (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ALMATY 000541

SIPDIS

EUR/CACEN (JMUDGE); EUR/SNEC (SMANN); EUR/RPM (JWARLICK);
SA (JGASTRIGHT)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2016
TAGS: MARR MASS POLITICAL
SUBJECT: EUCOM DCDR GENERAL CHARLES WALD DISCUSSES SECURITY
ISSUES WITH KAZAKHSTAN'S MINISTER OF DEFENSE AND WITH THE
DIRECTOR OF BORDER GUARD FORCES

CLASSIFIED BY: DCM MARK L. ASQUINO, FOR REASONS: 1.4
(A),(B) AND (D)


1. (SBU) Summary. Deputy Commander of the US European
Command (EUCOM) General Charles F. Wald had separate
meetings on January 20 with Minister of Defense General
Mukhtar Altynbayev and Lieutenant General Bolat Zakiyev,
Director of the Border Guards (BG) Service. At the
Ministry of Defense (MOD),military briefers gave
presentations on the current status and future plans
in the Caspian area as well as on military cooperation with
the U.S. and NATO. In the meeting at Border Guard (BG)
headquarters, Caspian security was also the focus of
discussion. There was a disconnect in the two meetings
between the Ministry of Defense's advocacy of a modern
Kazakhsani naval force on the Caspian, and the Border's
Guard's view that no such force is necessary. End summary.

MOD Links Political and Economic Stability with Military
Reform
-------------- --------------
--------------


2. (SBU) After introducing his staff, General Altynbayev
noted that Kazakhstan had just completed presidential
elections, had a new government, new prime minister
and new cabinet ministers. He said he was pleased with his
reappointment as the Minister of Defense. General
Altynbayev went on to say that the real successes in
Kazakhstan's economic development and its stable government
had set the stage for ongoing military reforms. He
concluded that military cooperation with the U.S.,
other countries, and NATO enhances military reform. The
five year plan of military cooperation with the U.S. is
considered important to the improvement of Kazakhstan's
forces, especially the air mobile, navy, Caspian region
forces and the Kazakhstani Battalion (KAZBAT).


3. (C) General Altynbayev also said that U.S. assistance
in developing the Caspian force infrastructure, including
two UH-II helicopters, armament and naval forces is very
important. Measures to support peace and security in
the Caspian region are critical for stability in the
region.

Kazakhstan Needs a Navy
--------------



4. (SBU) In the briefings that followed, there was emphasis
on the scale of Caspian Sea exploitation over the past few
years, and the need to develop a multi-functional security
apparatus to protect the eastern Caspian area. A
centerpiece of the latter is development of naval
maritime forces to cooperate with the existing maritime
border guard forces, as well as counter-terrorism,
anti-aircraft and aviation forces. Sourcing of vessels was
pointed out as an issue in developing a naval maritime
force. The training role of the naval institute was
described, and it was pointed out that naval forces operate
under the western regional command. The various types of
ships envisioned as a total naval force were listed. The
mission roles of guarding the border, economic interests,
deterring attacks, defending territorial waters and ports,
escorting vessels, search and rescue, cooperation with
joint defense operations and ecological accident control
were delineated.

Cooperation with the U.S. and NATO
--------------


5. (SBU) The second briefing provided an overview of
military cooperation with the U.S., including types of
training, equipping and infrastructure development
that has already occurred or is planned. Important areas
highlighted were the development of a counter-terrorism
capability, infrastructure development in the Caspian
region and equipping units. Other long-term plans include
NATO compatibility for KZ forces, enhancing the
capabilities of the mountain infantry battalion in the
southern military region, professional development of the
NCO corps and reform of the military vehicle maintenance
system.


6. (SBU) The last briefing described Kazakhstan's
cooperation with NATO through the planning and review
process (PARP) of the NATO partnership for peace (PFP)
program. This cooperation includes interoperability
exercises, visitor programs, PFP funded weapons destruction
programs, and support to the NATO liaison officer.

How EUCOM Can Help
--------------


7. (C) Following the briefings, General Wald discussed
the role he saw for EUCOM in working with Kazakhstan to
help it develop its Caspian security capability. He also
noted EUCOM's interest in facilitating cooperation among
Caspian neighbor states. The General described how the U.S
is working with both the border guards and the navy in
Azerbaijan. U.S. assistance has included surveillance
radars, other equipment and training, and may include
training on command and control and doctrine in the future.
This will help Azerbaijan integrate its forces and
procedures to detect and react to territorial threats.


8. (C) General Altynbayev noted that unlike Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan has just started Caspian forces development.
This is why MOD maritime capability does not yet exist, and
why continued U.S. assistance is so crucial. He said that
ground and air forces capabilities recently have been
established in the Caspian port city of Aktau in western
Kazakhstan. Two exercises have been conducted in this
region, but only with the use of deployed forces. He
reiterated that the existing problem is the lack of ships,
although three South Korean patrol boats will be delivered
to Kazakhsani forces in Turkey in March. The General added
that Russia has agreed to provide two ships, but no date of
availability has been established. He thanked General Wald
for US assistance with facilities in the Caspian region.
He added that there are no disputes between Kazakhstan and
Azerbaijan. In response to a question on joint operations,
General Altynbayev said that he is working on possible
future cooperation with Azerbaijan, most likely in the area
of training.


Border Guard Forces
--------------


9. (SBU) In a separate meeting, General Wald also discussed
security cooperation in the Caspian Sea area with General
Bolat Zakiyev, Director of the Border Guards BG) Service.
General Zakiyev noted that Kazakhstan has 2000 kilometers
of coastline on the Caspian Sea, which is more than any of
the other Caspian Basin countries The BG's operating area
includes oil and fishing regions, plus maritime transport
routes from Turkmenistan and Iran. Among the BG's
responsibilities are drug interdiction, addressing the
problems of illegal immigration and poaching, plus
providing oil infrastructure security. The fact that
Caspian water borders have not been officially delineated
among the Caspian Basin countries greatly complicates
performing these duties.


10. (C) General Zakiyev continued that the Maritime
Border Guard (MBG) Division is located in the port city of
Aktau. It has 24 maritime vessels, a mixed aviation
unit of helicopter and fixed wing, a BG coastal unit and
border control operations at Kazakhstan's ports and
airports. The BG also provides security for a nuclear
energy plant located near the coast. Zakiyev noted that
Kazakhstan had good cooperation with Azerbaijan and Russia
in Caspian security. Turkmenistan's declared policy of
"neutrality" complicates its participation in such
cooperation and Iran resisted any cooperation until the
Caspian border status was decided.

Upcoming Meeting on Caspian Cooperation
--------------


11. (C) General Zakiyev said that Azerbaijan, Russian, and
Kazakhstan planned to unite BG efforts in a trilateral
agreement. In mid-February in Atyrau, the heads of the
three BG agencies would sign an agreement on Caspian
coordination and cooperation. He added that "other
countries" (Note: a probable reference to Turkmenistan)
might also participate with material or information
assistance, even if not officially a part of the agreement.
He concluded that these steps are being taken for the
purpose of mutual security, even though not final or ideal,
due to limited resources.


12. (C) Regarding Kazakhstan's maritime capabilities,
Zakiyev said that in 2003, the BG started equipping units
with radar that could detect out to 60 kilometers from the
coast. At present, only 600 kilometers of the coast had
coverage, but the entire coast should be equipped with
radar coverage by the end of 2006, operating on a 24 hour
basis. The next task was to improve radio equipment and
communication, with future plans for video surveillance,
including aviation video systems.

13.(C) General Wald asked if Kazakhstani BG radios were
interoperable with those of the Azerbaijani BG. General
Zakiyev acknowledged that they were not currently
interoperable, but that the two countries exchanged Caspian
security information. He said that at the February
meeting, the two countries were expected to agree on
measures for greater cooperation.

Who Needs a Navy?
--------------


14. (C) General Wald asked about BG cooperation with
Kazakhstan's Navy. General Zakiyev repliedthat, in
principle, the Navy had a different mission than the
Border Guard. However, he observed dryly that he hoped
there would never be the need for a Kazakhstani naval force
on the Caspian, He said the reason was that no Kazakhstani
navy was required because the Caspian is a demilitarized
area. According to Kazakhstani law, the Navy's mission was
only to provide security for shipsbeyond Kazakhstan's 12
mile maritime border limit on the Caspian. He implied there
was no great need for such security.


15. (C) General Wald asked how far the BG's control
extended from the coastline. General Zakiyev replied that
the BG operates up to 12 miles out, and controls the
entire coast line. He also noted that since the water
borders are not delineated among the countries, the
February meeting will also serve to discuss coordination
against criminal activities, rather than settle on official
border activities.


16. (C) In a final question, General Wald asked if video
signal equipment would feed information into an electronic
map showing all vessels on the Caspian. General Zakiyev
said that Kazakhstan might install such a system during
the next year if funding is available.


17. (C) Comment: There was a disconnect between the
Ministry of Defense's robust advocacy of a modern,
Kazakhstani naval force on the Caspian, and the Border's
Guard's view that no such force is needed. Border Guard
head Zakiyev took the position that his organization has
primary responsibility for maritime security in the
Caspian. Based on the meetings, there appears to be
greater cooperation between Kazakhstan and its neighbors
on Caspian security than between its MOD and BG on the
subject. End Comment.


ORDWAY